Historic Sites of Manitoba: Souris School No. 285 (1884-1960)

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Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Maps | Sources

The Souris School District was established formally, in the village of Souris, in 1884. Originally occupying a wood frame structure, the school moved into a two-storey, brick building in 1894, designed by Brandon architect W. H. Shillinglaw. In 1912, a second school building, designed by local architect C. H. Brindle, was erected beside it for use as a Collegiate.

In January 1960, the school became Souris Consolidated School No. 2388 when it was consolidated with several districts from the surrounding countryside, including Breezelawn School No. 169, Riverview School No. 279, Whitefield School No. 473, Botany School No. 486, Huntingdon School No. 542, and Wolflea School No. 590. As other rural schools closed, such as Lily School No. 382, their students came here too.

The collegiate building was demolished in 1960 but the original building continued to be used until at least the 1990s. It too was eventually demolished.

Principals

Period	Principal
1899-1901	Samuel Henry Forrest (1873-1963)
1901-1902	Harry Harvey Greenway (1879-1906)
1902-1909	Joseph William Gordon (1868-1954)
1910	James Erron Stanley Dunlop (1882-1945)
1910-1913	?
1913-1916	Robert McKay Stevenson (1882-1970)
1916-1917	Sydney E. Clark (1880-1963)
1917-1920	William Dakin
1920-1922	J. E. Cooper
1922-1923	Henry Dennison
1923-1929	Grace Frances Huntley (1891-1977)
1929-1930	C. J. Burrows
1930-1932	Melvin T. Woods
1932-1935	Wallace Henry McIntyre (1904-1960)
1935-1938	George E. Pickard
1938-1941	George Archibald Coulthard (1890-1964)
1941-1945	Maurice Raphael [Ray] Loree (1910-?)
1945-1946	Walter Humphrey Wilfred Walker (1908-1974)
1946-1947	Bertha E. Nelson
1947-1951	Samuel Alfred Wright (1900-1966)
1951-1962	James Alvin Leslie (?-1973)
1962-1967	J. J. Gisinger
1967-1973	M. Zuk
?	Wilfrid Laurier “Laurie” Tomasson (c1920-1998)

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1899-1900	(partial) Miss DuVal, Samuel Henry Forrest, Miss McCrossan
1900-1901	Miss Bawden, Samuel Henry Forrest, Miss Hall, Miss Slater, Miss Stuart

Other teachers at Souris School included H. L. Adolph, J. W. Beckett, W. J. Wallace, George L. Dibblee, Richard “Dick” Moore, Eliza Briggs Dolmage (c1915-1922), Frank Harder (1930s), Leonore Cowie (1947-1948), and Ila Clark Lang (1947-1953).

Photos & Maps

Postcard of Souris Collegiate, right, and Public School, left (no date) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2012-0037 Souris School with Collegiate in the background (no date) by A. J. Hatcher Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 14. Souris Schools (no date) Source: Archives of Manitoba, George Harris Fonds, Acc. 1979-141, P7454, Album 22, Page 36. Site Location (lat/long): N49.62118, W100.25712 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

“Souris,” Brandon Daily Sun, 25 August 1900, page 2.

“School Board meets,” Brandon Daily Sun, 18 July 1901, page 4.

Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.

One Hundred Years in the History of the Rural Schools of Manitoba: Their Formation, Reorganization and Dissolution (1871-1971) by Mary B. Perfect, MEd thesis, University of Manitoba, April 1978.

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950.

Manitoba Permit Teachers of World War II, compiled by Louisa Loeb, Winnipeg: Hyperion Press Ltd., 2007.

We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 15 August 2016

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